BEIRUT: Concrete blocks were removed from outside the Future Movement’s Beirut headquarters and from outside MP Talal Arslan’s residence in Aley Sunday, after Lebanon’s new interior minister started an initiative to clear security barriers across the country.
Future’s decision to remove the blocks from outside its headquarters in Beirut’s Qantari was made in line with Interior Minister Raya El Hassan's initiative, according to the Future-affiliated news site Mustaqbal Web. Hassan represents the Future Movement in the new Cabinet.
Later in the day, Al-Jadeed TV channel reported that the blocks being removed from outside Arslan’s home in the Aley village of Khaldeh had been placed there in 2011 because of “security concerns,” which have since been allayed.
Arslan tweeted Sunday that the barriers, which cost approximately $350 each, were no longer necessary.
A day ago, General Security announced that it also removed cement blocks surrounding the agency's building in Beirut’s Adlieh, following instructions from General Security head Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, the state-run National News Agency reported at the time.